Dear Editor,
My late maternal grandmother left with me an erudite message that clearly instructs that in choosing one’s thoughts and actions one should base them on a set of core-character values not dollars or fame. The core values by which I choose to live are embodied in the concept that one must be fully accountable for one’s thoughts and actions. If an apology is necessary for one’s past thoughts and past actions when they are found to be inaccurate or inappropriate, then it must be had. That for me is integrity.
I had a communication with Wazir Mohammed on July 13, 2016, one month exactly after the death anniversary of Walter Rodney. The main underpinning of our communication was my letter in the press of the said day, captioned ‘Information was extracted from the Carter Center’ as published in the SN. What he shared with me caused me to take a relook at the entire Carter Center Report on the 1992 elections, plus the Odeen Ishmael Report (which Wazir kindly shared with me) and then the Frank Narine Report on historical parliamentary information (2007), which I then independently sourced and which can be found here – http://parliament.gov.gy/GUYANA%20PARLIAMENT%20HISTORY%202009-1.pdf.
So, first of all, I want to thank Wazir for conducting himself with much equanimity and lucidity as he shed valuable light on the issues at hand.
Secondly, after reading these three reports collectively, I acknowledge that there is enough new verifiable information that has come to my attention with regards to my original letter on the results of the 1992 elections, to cause me to make the following statement.
The Carter Center Report on the 1992 elections is patently inaccurate on Page 116. I was extremely surprised that such a reputable institution abdicated its responsibility to double check and triple check its facts. This inaccuracy fed into my letter since this Carter Center Report was my main source document. On Page 116 of the Carter Center Report it stated that Matteson Williams was a PPP MP and Bagot Paul was a WPA MP. I now have enough new primary and secondary evidence at my disposal to correct my original assertion that was sourced from the Carter Center Report and agree with Wazir that former MP Matteson Williams was actually a WPA representative in Parliament and former MP Bagot Paul was a PPP representative. Let the record stand corrected.
Wazir shared with me some primary source information on the negotiations he had with Harripersaud Nokta from the PPP in a follow-up to the principle adopted by the then 1992 WPA leadership to ensure that the PPP secure a comfortable majority in Guyana’s first free and fair elections since 1968. This primary-source information highlighted that the 1992 WPA leadership took a principled stance not to leverage any opportunity to embarrass the new Jagan government and committed to providing it with as much support as it needed, both in and out of Parliament, in order to facilitate a smooth and seamless transition from an anti-democratic system of governance to democracy.
This brings me to an important point: what if the WPA had chosen to support the PNC or stay independent in 1992, would this have caused the Jagan government to fall? My response remains a consistent no, once the TUF support was in place.
If the WPA had not supported the PPP and if the PNC Regional Chairman in the North West (Region 1) had not accidentally mis-voted, then the results would have more likely have seen the PNC securing 30 seats and the PPP securing 33 seats. In such a scenario, the 1980 constitution would have granted the right to Dr Jagan to form the government. Please note that even if both the NCLDO seats were given to the PNC, which seems a bit extreme with a 5 v 5 split in the regional parliamentary seats, the PPP would have still earned 33 seats with support from the TUF in Region 9.
Irrespective of the above probable outcome, we cannot discount the crucial role played by the WPA in the restoration of democracy in Guyana in the run up to the 1992 elections. Legally and administratively, the only viable impediment to Dr Jagan not assuming power in 1992 was former President Desmond Hoyte. If Hoyte had had chosen to wrap himself in constitutional gymnastics to stay in power, a transition of power might very well not have happened. Hoyte took the high ground; he is duly recognized for it and the rest is history.
Thirdly, I am aware that my letter might have been very jarring to the 1992 leadership of the WPA including Wazir Mohammed. In my celerity to respond to a rather personal accusatory and calumnious letter from Ali Majeed, who I am told is a battle-scarred WPA activist from the Burnham era, I recognize in retrospect that I may have unfortunately taken a very broad swipe at the 1992 WPA leadership. I specifically referred to my comment about the 1992 WPA leadership as a “political dead force” which is trying today to “unwind fact and history with figments of their imagination”. It was an inappropriate and unacceptable comment for which I take full responsibility. I am therefore withdrawing this comment and humbly apologize to the WPA 1992 leadership for penning such a statement.
Yours faithfully,
Sase Singh
